Confirming your voter registration and understanding the voting process as a first-time voter can feel overwhelming. A recent move to an out-of-state college adds another dimension. You may be living away from your parents for the first time, filing your own paperwork for classes, financial aid, parking permits, and more. On top of all of that, you can add updating your voter registration.

Registering and voting can feel daunting when you are experiencing culture shock, homesickness, and school anxiety. Ballot Ready explains that college student voters face unique barriers to voting, including inexperience and a lack of money or time to register and travel to polling places. However, though low voter turnout in this voting block has been the norm in the past, the numbers have changed dramatically in the last decade.

According to data from 2024, CIRCLE (Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement), college student voting rates and registration have been on the rise since 2012, with a college voter turnout of 53% in 2024. As noted by Student Vote Research Network, this rising rate can be attributed to colleges implementing programs that encourage and incorporate voting into campuses by hosting polling places on campus and through on-campus non-partisan voter registration initiatives.

So you moved to college; now how do you vote?

Voting in Your Home State: 

• You can request an absentee ballot. Vote.org
• Many states automatically send you a mail-in ballot. In states that automatically send it, it is called mail-in or all-mail voting. (Absentee voting and voting by mail | USAGov)
• Once you have the ballot in hand, you have a deadline for mailing it back in; check out your state’s deadlines here: Absentee Ballot Deadlines – Vote.org
• According to the United States Postal Service, most state and local governments require the ballots to be received on or before Election Day. There are some differences in these rules, and you should check the deadlines for your jurisdiction to be sure. USA.gov

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 32 states allow internet voting, or Electronic Ballot Return, for specific reasons including military deployment and disabilities.

Voting in Your College State:

• Check your new state rules; every state is different. You can check the State Student Voting Guides.
• State deadlines for registering to vote vary, but they cannot cut off registration before 30 days ahead of an election.
• If you live in a state where you can establish residency quickly, find your polling place: Polling Place Locator – Vote.org
• In that case, some schools hold info fairs and have people tabling at the beginning of the semester to facilitate quick voter registration in your new state.
• Some states allow you to register using a college school ID. This tool from Campus Vote Project can help you identify what ID your college state allows you to use.